Overhead drop bulkhead gate



June 6, 1939. G. F. JONES OVERHEAD DROP BULKHEAD GATE Filed June 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

June 6, 1939. JONES 2,160,870

OVERHEAD DROP BULKHEADGATE Filed June 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ge 01:99 lefones INVENTOR.

I J: .l. l=.i. BY

' ATTORNEY.

Patented June 5, 1959 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims,

This invention relates to railway equipment and it has particular reference to improvements in overhead bulkhead drop gates for railway'cars.

The principal object of the invention isto provide effective means, readilyavailable for separating railway shipments in box and refrigerator cars into independentsections, each'section be-; ing divided by one of the bulkhead 'drop gates -.of'

the invention, which is equip'ped'with means to lock thesame in operative as well as inoperative position'to preclude any possibility of accidental displacement,

Another object'of the invention is to eliminate the necessity of bulkheading lading for shipment, which'is an expensive practiceand is detrimental to the equipment as these temporarybulkheads are usually nailed to' the walls and floor of the cars and constant change in' location obviously results in disfigurement of the walls.

Still another object of the invention is to prevent shifting of the lading in the car and the consequent damage thereto as-a result of such shifting and the invention likewise protects the car ends against undue pressure of the landing when subjected to rough handling, since the gates assume their proportionate share of the strain imposed upon the "load by sudden shocks. Accordingly, merchandise, both heavy and light, sturdy and fragile, may be shipped in the same car by separating it throughthe medium of the bulkhead gates. i i

With the foregoing objects as paramount, the invention has further objects as wellas certain novel, details of construction, to become mani- 5 fest as the description proceeds,taken in con nection with the accompanying drawings, where- Figure 1 is a transverse section of a box car, showing in perspective, a unit of the invention.

40 Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of a unit of the invention, showing the details of the multiple locking means.

Figure 3 is a detail view, fragmentarily showing the channel rail support and the relative posi- 45 tions of the gate thereto. a

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail view in crosssection of one of the journal boxes affording a fulcrum for the upper end of a gate and is taken on line |-4 of Figure 3. to" Figure 5 isa view on lines 5-5 on Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a detail of the locking means on lines 6-6 on Figure 2.

Figure '7 is a detail, partly'in section of one of the latches. for either suspending" the gate 'or for 66" securing the same against the shipment, and

Figure 8 is a detail view of the yielding suspension means, preventing the gate from falling against the shipment, shown on lines 8-8 on Figure 5.

Continuing with a more detailed description of 5 the drawings, reference is primarily made to Figure 1 of the drawings wherein l designates the exterior walls of a conventional box car, 2, the floor and 3, the top of the car. For the sake of clarity, only the exterior walls of the car are 10 shown, but in'actual practice, it is desirable that the supporting posts 4 for the bulkhead gate structure be positioned between the inner and outer walls of the car and will thereby be concealed. Only the supporting railor channel 5, 15 the intermediate, lower and base locking, rails, 6, I and 8 respectively, will be exposed, and even these will be countersunk into the walls and floor of the car.

The present invention is an improvement on 20 that illustrated and claimed in the patent issued to the present applicant on May 5, 1931, No. 1,803,760.

Proceeding with the description; the gate proper, of which there will be any number desired, is 25 also shown in Figure 1, with details of construction shown in the other figures. This gate is comprised primarily of tubular members 9 of suitable dimension and weight, connected together by means of T-joints and unions l0 and II respec- 30 tively to provide a rigid frame. The upper end of the gate is suspended operatively for swinging movement, from the channel rails 5, through the medium of a pair of conversely related journal blocks l2, shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5.

The journal blocks I 2 are grooved lengthwise to receive rollers I3 at either end thereof and which rollers travel on the lower flanges of the channel rails 5. The edges of these flanges are turned up at a, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. Moreover, the blocks themselves are provided with depending projections 17 which engage the upwardly turned portions a of the rails to retain the blocks in operative relationship with the rails.

It will be understood that at no time are the gates released from the journal boxes but the journals or gudgeons M, which suspend the gate relative to the blocks l2, are capable of longitudinal displacement together with the blocks, the purpose of which is to secure and release the gate with respect to-the channel rails 5, it being pointed out that these rails are perforated at c (Fig. 1) with which perforations, the apertures in the blocks I! register. It is possible therefore to project the gudgeons H into the perforations c against displacement once it is locked or latched.

The latching means for the gate consists of the structure shown in Figure '7. The gudgeon I4 is arranged for sliding movement, as stated, in the ends of the upper member 9 of the gate. A slot at is made in the underside of the tubular member 9, through which a pin l5, secured in the gudgeon, protrudes, and by which, the gudgeon is manually moved. To lock the gudgeon in operative relationship with the channel rails 5, a slot e (Fig. 7) is made in the gudgeon to be received by a pin I6, retained, under pressure of spring H, by a ferrule I8 affixed to or integral with the tubular member 9. The spring I! normally urges the pin 16 into engagement with the gudgeon l4, therefore, when the latter has been moved to its extreme outward position, it is locked in such position by the pin, which holds the journal box l2 and consequently the gate against displacement from a predetermined position.

The foregoing description of the gate latching means refers also to the means for securing the gate at an intermediate point to the intermediate locking rails 6. These rails, as will be seen in Figure 1 are likewise perforated at spaced intervals throughout their length and whose apertures are in vertical alignment with the apertures c of the channel rails 5. There is no difference in structure of the latching means of the channel rail from that of the intermediate rails, hence the illustration, Figure '7, suffices for both and further reference thereto is considered unnecessary.

Concerning the locking means for the lower portion of the gate, reference is made to Figures 1 and 2. In these figures, a disc or rather a pair of discs l9 are disposed face to face and rotatably arranged in a slot ,f in the central tubular member 9 of the gate. These discs afiord an eccentric connection for a pair of arms, as will be later shown and is pivoted at 9' to said central member 9.

An arm 29 is connected pivotally to the discs l9 at h, and to a second arm 2|. This latter arm is pivoted intermediate its ends at i to a cross member 22 and at its other end to a sliding pin or gudgeon 23 which is arranged for longitudinal displacement in the lowermost horizontal tubular member 9 of the gate, so as to enter one of the several apertures in the lower locking rail l. Thus, it will be seen that by slightly rotating the discs l9, arm 29 will be moved inwardly and outwardly, imparting a similar movement to the gudgeon 23, but at the position of arm 29, shown in Figure 1, the gudgeon 23 is in locked relationship with the rail 1.

On the opposite side of the central member 9, an arm 24 is pivoted at 7' to the discs l9 and at its opposite end, is pivoted at k to an arm 25, the latter being, in turn, pivoted at Z to a. cross member 26. The lower end of arm 25 is pivoted to the gudgeon, identified by the character 23 to correspond with its companion gudgeon bearing the same reference character.

The discs 19 are provided with handles 2'! to enable them to be easily rotated to effect movement of the several arms, which in turn actuate the gudgeons 23 to locked and unlocked relationship with their respective rails l.

The discs l9 have the additional function of actuating the pin 23 vertically in the lower portion of the tubular member 9. This action is brought about by a link 29, pivoted at one end to the discs, adjacent their peripheries and at of the rails, thus to hold the blocks and the gate its opposite end to the upper end of the pin 28. Accordingly, when the discs are rotated, this pin 28 is moved simultaneously with the gudgeons 23 and at the same speed and with the same degree of displacement.

It is immediately apparent therefore that by the simple manipulation of the discs or locking means l9 by its handles 21, the gate may be locked at three points simultaneously, that is, to the two lower rails 1 and to the base rail 8, thereby insuring against displacement of the gate at any time while it is operatively serving as a partitioning medium for the shipments in a box car.

The locking means described in the foregoing not only serves to lock the gates in operative position but also in the inoperative position shown in Figure 3. In this position, the gate is suspended in the top of the car in a manner similar to that in which itis locked in operative position. A permanent block 39 (Figures 1 and 3), having an aperture 3| therein to receive the gudgeons 23, is secured between the flanges of the channel rails 5. As many pairs of these blocks as there are gates are provided to retain the gates inoperatively in the top of the car.

In order to prevent damage either to the shipment or the gates, the latter are provided with yielding suspension means in the form of torsion springs 32, shown in detail in Figures 3, 5 and 8. These springs are wound on pins 33 secured to and extending outwardly from the journal blocks I 2. One end of each spring is hooked under a vertical member 9 of the gate on either side thereof, while the opposite end of the spring is fixed in the journal block, as shown in Figures 5 and 8. Being thus mounted, the springs sustain the gates at the approximate angle shown in Figure 3 in dotted lines, to prevent them from colliding with the shipment, should they be permitted to fall under their own weight. In order to effect securement of the gates in vertical or operative position they are required to be pushed into position to overcome the resistance of the sustaining springs 32, and then blocked, as explained.

When it is desired to employ one or more of the gates described, the operator is required to simply release the locks by rotating the locking means or eccentric 19 to manipulate the arms 29, 2|, 24 and 25 to release the gudgeons from the aperture 3| of the block 30. If the intermediate latches (Figure '7) are secured, then he is required to pull downward on the pin l6 against the spring I! and simultaneously move the pin l5 to withdraw the gudgeon M- from its retaining aperture. The gate is thereby released and if allowed to fall, its weight will be sustained by the springs 32. When urged into operative position, the locking means or eccentric I9 is oppositely rotated to engage the gudgeons 23 and pin 28 with the apertures in the rails 1 and 8 respectively to firmly hold the gate in engagement with the shipment. To lock the means I9, a detent 34 is normally urged by a spring into engagement with the periphery of the means l9. A notch 35 (Fig. 2) secures this detent when the gate is in locked position, (Fig. 1) and can be released only by raising the detent by pin 36.

Manifestly, the construction shown and described is capable of considerable modification and such modification as may be considered in keeping with the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered within the spirit and. intent of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a box car, a partitioning means and frame therefor, the latter comprising channel rails supported in spaced relation with the top of said carand a series of companion rails in parallel relationship with said channel rail, journal blocks slidingly mounted in said channel rails in confronting relationship, gates pivotally suspending from said blocks, means for locking said blocks against sliding movement, means for locking said gate in vertical and horizontal positions relative to said rails and torsion springs connected to said blocks and engageable with the sides of said gates for yieldingly suspending the same in a position intermediate said vertical and horizontal positions.

2. A box car including in combination a partitioning means and frame, the latter comprising relatively parallel perforated rails extending the length of said car along its walls and floor, supporting means for said rails, said partitioning means comprising a series of transverse bulkhead gates, each gate having retractable gudgeons for pivotally connecting said gate to slidable blocks mounted in the uppermost of said rails, means to effect sliding movement of said gudgeons to effect a retracting or extending operation of said gudgeons into unlocked or locked relationship with said perforated rails to enable said gate to be displaced or to be locked, a series of longitudinally slidable pins on either side and bottom of said gate, a common means for sliding said pins simultaneously to lock or unlock said gate with respect to companion rails.

GEORGE F. JONES. 

